Japan continues to be the biggest source of South Korea’s inbound foreign visitors so far in 2023, based on the latest data up to May 31, reported Yonhap News Agency. In May, South Korea received a total of 184,000 travellers from Japan, representing a year-on-year increase of 4,863 percent, the news agency said, citing figures from the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO).
Japan-originating travellers represented approximately 21.2 percent of South Korea’s circa 867,000 foreign travellers recorded for May. It meant Japan was the biggest feeder market for South Korea’s inbound-travel trade for the “sixth consecutive month”, Yonhap reported.
The other two major sources for South Korea’s inbound travellers were China and the U.S. respectively. In May, a total of 128,000 travellers from China visited South Korea, a tally up by 1,039 percent from a year ago; while 102,000 travellers from the U.S. visited the country, an increase of 140 percent year-on-year, according to the report.
The return of Chinese visitors to South Korea – particularly mass-market patrons – is expected to help sustain the recovery of the country’s casino business in the second half of 2023, said brokerage NH Investment & Securities Co Ltd in a memo issued in late May.
South Korea has 17 casinos, according to Korea Casino Association data, with 16 of those open only to foreigners.
